ANCT

Typographic school in Paris

The ANCT (Atelier National de Création Typographique/National Workshop for Type Design) was a type design school founded in 1985 by Jack Lang, the French Minister of Culture, under the impulses of CERT (Centre d’étude et de recherche typographiques), a group of outstanding French type specialists. It was originally established at the premises of the Imprimerie Nationale (National Printing Office) in Paris under the administrative responsibility of the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs (ENSAD). Among its teachers were José Mendoza and Ladislas Mandel; among its first-generation students were Franck Jalleau and Jean-Renaud Cuaz.

From 1989 onwards, the school was headed by Swiss typographer Peter Keller; under his direction it changed it name to Atelier national de recherche typographique (ANRT). As the name change implies, its focus was shifted from a studio-like structure to a research-oriented project-based approach. In 1999, the ANRT was moved to Nancy. In 2006, Keller stepped down as director and the school was subsequently closed down.